Tranquility Trail
leaving
by Roehunga iPudaiie
Only a few moments ago, my telehone rang and I answered what I expected to be another routine call. But a voice at the other end said, “ Mr. Pudaite, this is Grace at the printer's. I just wanted to tell you that Hank died of a heart attack last night.” I simply could not believe her. I had spent fifteen minutes w i t h Hank the previous afternoon, talk ing business. He was only 45. He was healthy and in an unusually good humor. It was only an hour or so after I left him, in fact, that he went to a restaurant and there suffered a fatal heart attack. I called Mawii immediately to tell her the tragic news. For some rea son, I was not prepared for her question, “ Ro, did you ever ask Hank to receive Christ as his Sav iour?” I was speechless. Hank was a good friend with whom I had often done business. I had made a trail across his life through numerous conversations. But last night that trail came to an end, for Hank is dead. I fear it was not a “ tranquility tra il,” for I never once asked him where he stood with Jesus Christ. May God forgive me! I would not take anything away from the importance of the trail man is now leaving in outer space. The thought of man’s actual foot prints on the surface of the moon leaves me awe-struck and amazed. But I am also impressed more than ever before with my responsibility before God for the “ tranquility tra il” of my witness for Christ among the men and women of our own planet, Earth. THE KING'S BUSINESS
has not changed one small dot of man's nature or destiny. What we are doing in space exploration is discovering God in a more perfect way than ever before. The higher we go in space, the deeper our ad miration for Him and the intricacies of His creation. The modern scien tist is getting closer and closer to the truth that the Psalmist had in mind — that man is created to have a personal relationship with God. Dr. Wernher Von Braun, giant among space scientists, tells us that the farther he penetrates into the unknown realms beyond our planet, the deeper his faith in God becomes. So man must reach out — up ward and beyond. And the farther he reaches, the more proof he finds of God’s rigid control of all of His universe. The greater God becomes, the more incredible the expanse of all He has created. And what of man? He sinks into insignificance in comparison with the great Cre ator! My deepest personal concern is not God’s existence or His con tinued control of His universe. My thoughts go to the symbolism of that “ trail of tranquility” on the surface of the moon. There is a sense in which each believer con stitutes a tiny “ Tranquility Base” for God right here on earth. Each day we make footprints among the masses of people who are as far from Him as the most distant nebu la is from our planet. Am I leaving a "tra il of tranquility" among them as I manifest the life of Jesus Christ here on earth?
rue believers in God are never afraid of facts. This is why I can say that man’s conquest of the moon has not disturbed my relationship with God; it has deepened it. My needs, hopes, joys — my very life — are more properly focused on the God of the universe than ever before. I was at Pinebrook in New York State when the voice came across a quarter of a million miles to say, “ Tranquility base here; the Eagle has landed.” I drove my wife and children to a nearby motel to see Armstrong and Aldrin walk on the surface of the moon on television. What a breathtaking sight! Still clutching the ladder, Armstrong puts one foot on moon soil. Then there are footprints leading out to where the TV camera is placed. Man has permanently marked the moon’s surface. He has left his trail in outer space! One of the first letters I received from India after the moon landing asked, “ Since men have reached the moon, can we still believe in God?” Well, how would you phrase an answer? My own thoughts go to the Psalmist — not to "What is God,” but to "What is man?"
When I consider the heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? —Psalm 8:3-4
After all, man’s moon landing 30
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